LENIN COLLECTED WORKS

NOTE TO V. D. BONCH-BRUEVICH

[1918, January, no earlier than January 7 (20)]

Of course, they must be arrested.

And to convene the CEC, send this note to Sverdlov.¹

Lenin

¹ V. D. Bonch-Bruevich in his note informed V. I. Lenin of anarchist actions by a group of sailors—participants in the murder of ministers of the Provisional bourgeois government A. I. Shingaryev and F. F. Kokoshkin in the Marinsky Hospital on the night of January 6-7, 1918, sought V. I. Lenin's opinion on the arrest of the sailors, and proposed to convene a CEC session in connection with these events (see V. I. Lenin. Complete Collected Works, vol. 50, pp. 25-26, 411).

² Y. M. Sverdlov—Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

NOTE TO V. D. BONCH-BRUEVICH

January 8 (21), 1918

To V. D. Bonch-Bruevich

Write me how matters stand with the arrest of the murderers. Is it true that they don't want to surrender Kreis?¹

Lenin

¹ Kreis—sailor-anarchist, one of the participants in the murder of ministers of the Provisional bourgeois government A. I. Shingaryev and F. F. Kokoshkin.

ORDER TO L. N. STARK

January 8 (21), 1918

Comrade Stark!

On the basis of a report from Comrade Radek,² I request that you confer with Comrade Shotman (member of the collegium of Posts and Telegraph)³ on the question of providing radio facilities for the most important communications of the PTA.⁴

Lenin

1917 (DECEMBER) — 1918

¹ L. N. Stark—worker at the Press Bureau under the Council of People's Commissars, from January 13 (26), 1918—Commissar of the Petrograd Telegraph Agency.

² R. M. Radek—Assistant to the Secretary of the International Department of the Council of People's Commissars.

³ The credentials for A. V. Shotman appointing him a member of the collegium of the Commissariat of Posts and Telegraph were signed by V. I. Lenin on the same day, January 8, 1918.

⁴ Petrograd Telegraph Agency.

EXCHANGE OF NOTES WITH F. E. DZERZHINSKY

[January 9 (22), 1918]

Why are you not providing a draft decree

(1) on a complete prohibition of the export of machine oil and suchlike to Finland?

(2) on a revision commission for oversight?

(3) on sending agents to Tornio to catch smugglers?¹

¹ The correspondence between V. I. Lenin and F. E. Dzerzhinsky took place at a session of the Council of People's Commissars on January 9 (22), 1918, during discussion of the question of imports and exports from Finland. F. E. Dzerzhinsky—Chairman of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution, Sabotage and Speculation under the Council of People's Commissars (Cheka).

² The matter concerns the struggle against smugglers and speculators at the Swedish border in Tornio—at that time the only point of contact between the Soviet Republic and the outside world. We came to you today with a report on this matter.

NOTE TO THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSARIAT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

January 16 (29), 1918

The Russian subject Samuel Hatkin (Samuel Hatkin), who lived in 1906 in Riga and made the acquaintance there of Platten,² who vouches for him, requests permission to enter Russia.

I request that you permit him to enter.

Lenin

LENIN COLLECTED WORKS

¹ No other materials about him could be found.

² Friedrich (Fritz) Platten—at that time Secretary of the Swiss Social-Democratic Party.

INTERVIEW WITH A CORRESPONDENT OF THE SWEDISH NEWSPAPER "FOLKETS DAGBLAD POLITIKEN"

[January 20 (February 2), 1918]

Petrograd, Sunday. (Petrograd bureau of Folkets Dagblad. Telegram received with delay).

Yesterday in the afternoon Lenin received your correspondent and had a lengthy conversation with him. He reported that for two days now Smolny has had no contact with Brest-Litovsk.² Trotsky³ sits there as if in the Peter and Paul Fortress. This proves that the Germans want to conceal something. It is certain that the internal situation in Germany is critical. It is possible that by such behavior they also want to influence the Russians, but they are mistaken. Trotsky will not allow himself to be seduced by such methods. We too shall take measures to change this situation.

Regarding the internal situation in Russia, Lenin was especially full of hope. On the Don we control the situation. Kiev is ours. Just received word that Orenburg has been taken by Bolshevik forces⁴ and that the Cossacks under the command of General Dutov⁵ have suffered a heavy defeat. Forty Cossack regiments have declared war on Kaledin. One fine day he may very well be brought here as a prisoner.⁶ In military terms we thus have the advantage everywhere in the country. Even sabotage on the part of the bourgeoisie is retreating. The Organization of All Groups of Office Workers has just decided to begin negotiations with Smolny in order to resume work at all state enterprises. Apart from this, work is proceeding on the nationalization of the means of production. Very recently the leather industry was nationalized, just as metallurgy had been nationalized before—they are managed jointly by workers and capitalists with the decisive influence of the former. And the grain question is beginning, it seems, to become clearer. Yesterday at Smolny there was a Siberian deleg-